Thanks For the Memories
by XRaindropsX
Summary: Found unconscious by Team 7, she has no memory of anything before then, but the dogtag around her neck links her to Orochimaru. During the Chunins she has to face her past and come to terms with what she is: a ninja NaruXSaku Revised!Please read!
1. Who am I?

Okay, so I started thinking about how my original character should be replaced by Sakura, and so here it is. I hope you all like it. Please review and let me know if you like it better with Sakura or my original character. But review if you think I should change something, or even review if you like it so I know. It is what fuels me to update faster!

~01~ Who am I?

Darkness filled the land like water in a basin as a slight breeze blew through the grass and rustled the leaves. The moon's beauty shown like a beacon for all to see. All in all, it would seem like a quiet, peaceful night.

But, as the saying goes-Looks can be deceiving. The moon bathed me in its light like a spot light, giving away my position, and the people chasing me could see me as clear as if it were day.

I pushed my legs to move faster to just make it to the village beyond the hill beyond the trees. That village would help me; it would send someone to help, wouldn't they?

I could see the light from the village from my spot on top of the hill. I was too far away to see if there were people up and about this late at night, but I knew there were people living in that village.

Panting like a dog on a hot summer's day, I struggled to catch my breath. I had been running from my pursuers since noon that day with little rest, for every time I'd relax, they would show up again. I couldn't let them catch me, for if they did, they would bring me back to that horrid, evil, vile place.

I didn't want to go back. They hurt and tortured me. They ran experiments on me like I was some sort of lab rat, which I probably was to their eyes. They sucked my strength for their own selfish, personal reasons. They only cared about power.

The tree line ended, and the only way to get to the village was risk running out in the open, which would be suicidal. I didn't know what to do; I couldn't stay in the forest forever, so I would just have to try it and hope for the best.

I took off with a burst of speed, adrenaline rushing through my body like a drug. Glancing over my shoulder, I could see the figures closing in. I knew then that I was going to get caught.

The kimono I was wearing was as thin as an overused dish rag, and it barely stayed on my body. It was too long, and my feet tangled themselves in the hemline like a ball of yarn. I fell flat on my face.

Hurrying to get up, I stepped on the hemline of my kimono and the kimono, which then ripped, fell to the ground. I hesitated, ashamed, but decided my life was more important.

My little incident had given my followers time to catch up. One pinned my down face first in the dirt and started punching my head into the ground as if I was some sort of punching bag.

Arms flailing, legs kicking, I tried to get up and free myself, but there were too many of them, all of which much more powerful than me. They hit, kicked, stabbed, and cut me.

I kept telling myself not to pass out. I was no good unconscious- I would be as good as dead. I needed to stay awake if I had any chance-any hope- for survival.

But, as they flipped me over, one, who wore glasses and had silver hair, grabbed my throat with his large hands and squeezed. I gasped for air like a fish out of water until everything around me started to spin. Slowly, light started to dim and fade until eventually, everything went completely dark.

---**3****rd**** POV****---**

"You're such a loser," Sasuke snickered at his teammate, who had tried and failed miserably to get the hang of tree walking.

"Can it, Sasuke! You think you're so tough?" Naruto spat back, his anger threatening to boil over.

"I know so," Sasuke shrugged and folded his arms across his chest ever so aloof like.

Naruto, who was seething for way too long in his opinion, charged at Sasuke and pushed him out of the confines of the forest. They were in an open meadow. Perfect, though Naruto, now he has no where to hide. But, before Naruto could attack, Kakashi popped up in front of them and waved his arm at them to shut up and be quiet.

Kakashi glanced around and walked slowly farther into the open grass. He had sensed the presence of other ninja, though now they were gone. Had they been enemies scouting out the village? The Hokage would have to be notified immediately.

"Find anything, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, breaking the silence. Naruto had never been one to keep quiet for long.

Kakashi shook his head. Whoever was out here was long gone by now. They had probably heard Sasuke and Naruto fighting. They had been loud enough to give clear warning that they were in the vicinity. Kakashi was ready to head back to the village, but something pink caught his eye.

Walking over to it, he found a beaten pink-haired girl under the solitude of a lone cherry blossom tree. After a quick check, he found she was still alive but just barely. Taking off his jacket, he covered her small, frail body. Picking her up, he ran down to the village, signaling Sasuke and Naruto to follow.

**---****Back to Normal POV****---**

Opening my eyes, I found myself in a strange, white room. Though I was quite comfy in the bed, my heart pounded. Where was I? How had I ended up here? Trying to think back, I found I couldn't remember anything. I couldn't remember anything leading up to that point. I couldn't even remember my name. I was giving myself a headache.

Was this place some sort of a laboratory that runs experiments on its patients? Well, I was going to have none of that. Throwing the covers back, I pulled the tubes connected to my body off and ran to the window. My arms felt like noodles; probably part of their experiments, and I had a hard time opening the window.

Finally, it was open wide enough for me to crawl through. Just as I was about to pull my second leg over the ledge, a pair of arms were pulling me back inside. Kicking and struggling, my attacker had a hard time pulling me back in.

"Calm down! I'm not here to hurt you," the male baritone voice informed me as he let me go, though he put himself between me and the window. He had spiky silver hair and a mask. A headband like thing was around his forehead pulled down over one eye. He looked nice enough.

"Look, I don't know what this place is, but I'm not some rat you can run experiments on," I told him defiantly.

He frowned, "Experiments? This is a hospital."

It was my turn to frown. "A hospital?" I relaxed slightly and slumped to the floor. "I'm not injured. There is no need for me to be here."

He raised an eyebrow. "You were beaten almost to death. You suffered a lot of broken bones. You are lucky we have a great staff of medic ninja, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to have lifted your hands enough to pull off all those IVs."

"I was beaten?" I'd think I'd remember something that significant, but why wasn't I able to. It was like there was a block in my head.

"Ya, we couldn't pinpoint the perpetrators who did that too you; I'm sad to say they got away," he told me.

Wonderful. I didn't respond. There was nothing for me to say. I was beaten up and couldn't even remember it. There was something wrong with my head.

"Do you remember the attack? Maybe something you remember can help us in locating them."

I shook my head.

"What about where you were before you blacked out?"

I shook my head again. Nothing. I remembered nothing.

"I need to go talk to the Hokage, my students Naruto and Sasuke will sit with you," he said. Ya, probably because he didn't trust me to just sit there and not try to escape.

I didn't say anything as I coward in a corner and brought my knees up and rested my chin on my knee. Lost in my own world, I didn't notice the two boys come in until they were right in front of me. The blonde one sat right in front of me and the raven haired one stood against the wall.

"So, what's your name?" the blonde asked. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the next Hokage, and that's uh, Sasuke Uchiha. The guy from earlier was our sensei, Kakashi." There was that word again, Hokage. What did it mean?

I didn't answer his question because I didn't know.

Naruto frowned as he glanced at Sasuke as if he'd know what to do. As if these two kids could be of any use to me. If I didn't know who I was, how were they supposed to?

We sat in silence for a few minutes before an old man and the guy from earlier came in. "I'm the third hokage," the old guy introduced himself. Hokage. So that was what it was. He looked like he was of royal blood the way everyone seemed to follow him.

I just stared at him. I had nothing to say.

"Do you remember anything before you awoke here?" the hokage asked me.

I shook my head in response.

The old guy strode over in front of me and knelt at my side. "We found this dog tag around your neck when you were found. Do you have any idea what it means?" he pulled the dog tag from the folds of his robes. He handed it to me. Looking it over, I found that there was a number on the front.

"We think that that was your number, what they used to distinguish between everyone," Kakashi told me

54B-34. It didn't ring a bell. I turned it over and saw a snake engraved in it. What did that signify? Snakes weren't usually symbols of good things.

Now that I knew I was part of some evil lord's plans, what was going to happen to me?

As if reading my thoughts, the hokage answered, "The men that beat you are still out there. I think the best way for you to be protected is to assign you to a team, and beings you are already familiar with Kakashi's team, I think you should be with them."

"Team of what?" I asked.

"Ninja."

"Oh." Ninja? Was I a ninja too?

"As to your living arrangements, there are some apartments open. But I suggest the one closest to Naruto's, that way if you need anything, you needn't go far to find help."

I nodded again.

"Wonderful. Naruto, why don't you show her to her new home?"

"Sure thing," Naruto nodded. "Come on."

I followed him out of the hospital like a lost puppy dog, but that was just what I was: lost.

As Naruto was walking out with me, with Sasuke flanking us, Naruto said, "So, I think we should come up with a name for you."

"You're probably right. What did you have in mind?" I asked, curious.

"Well, we did find you under a cherry blossom tree. What about Sakura?" he suggested.

"Sakura?" I tried out the name. "I like it."

"Good. Plus, I think the name goes well with your hair. Do you think it's natural?"

I shrugged. "Who knows, but it definitely would be weird. Who has naturally pink hair?"

**---****3****rd**** Point of View****---**

Once Naruto, Sasuke, and the young girl had left, Kakashi glanced at the Hokage. "Shouldn't we tell them what we think that dog tag means?"

The hokage shook his head. "No, I don't think so. We wouldn't want to alarm them."

"But, don't they have a right to know?" Kakashi argued.

"The serial number on the back only suggests that she was a prisoner, not a servant of him."

"I am well aware of that, but, if she is an amnesiac, then the slightest tough could trigger a memory. What if we were wrong, and she's his right hand man? What if she was a trap?" the copy-cat ninja thought aloud.

"That could be the case, but I am hoping that we can curb her of her evil side if that is the case."

"I understand."

"Your main priority is to protect her from Orochimaru at all costs. Even if she is linked, it could very well have been broken by her loss of memory."

Please review so that I know you all like or dislike it.


	2. Ninjas? Ya Right

Okay, so I started thinking about how my original character should be replaced by Sakura, and so here it is. I hope you all like it. Please review and let me know if you like it better with Sakura or my original character. But review if you think I should change something, or even review if you like it so I know. It is what fuels me to update faster!

**~2~ Ninjas? Ya Right.**

"And, this is your place," Naruto opened the door to reveal a nice apartment for me to live in. It was right next door to his own.

Stepping inside, I found a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, a bedroom, and a study. Perfect. It was not too big, but not too small. It was ideal. Walking into the kitchen, I opened the fridge, but found it bare.

"Guess I need to get some food, huh?" I smiled, closing the door and took a seat at the small table.

"That's the first time I've heard you talk without me or anyone else having to drag out a conversation all day," Naruto informed me, joining me at the table.

"Sorry, but I had nothing to say." I shrugged as I placed my hands behind my head and leaned back.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, but I didn't mind. I liked the silence, it was pleasant. No one was yelling at me. I could just sit and relax and peace.

"Is it scary?" Naruto interrupted, breaking the silence.

"Is what scary?" I asked, not following his train of thought. Though with Naruto, it seemed his brain was wired differently than everyone else's, so it didn't surprise me that I didn't understand.

"Not being able to remember anything? Not being able to remember who you are, or where you came from? Don't you ever wonder where your parents are, or who raised you?"

"Well, I try not to think about it." I shrugged. "But, to answer your question, yes it scares me; I think about it all the time. I am constantly wondering if my parents are out there looking for me, or if they just gave up, thinking I was dead. But, like I said. I try not to think about it."

"Oh, right. Sorry." Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. That was another thing about Naruto. He didn't seem to think before he opened his mouth, something that was sure to get him into a lot of trouble. But I didn't mind. He was just trying to help.

A knock on the door prohibited the awkward moment that was sure to have followed. I frowned. Who would be at my place? No one could really know where I was; I had just gotten here myself.

Crossing the room, I opened the door to reveal a dark-haired young girl, who had two buns on top of her head, about Naruto's age. Dressed in khakis, she peered up at me. She was shorter than me by a good couple of inches.

"Ino, hey! What are you doing here?" Naruto asked as he came up behind me to see who it was.

"Oh, well, Kakashi-sensei sent me to find you two. He scheduled a practice today, and since I was out running, he asked if I would go get you two," Ino answered. "I'm Ino. I'm not on his team; I'm in another.

"Sakura. And, you're on a team of… ninja, right?" I was still skeptical that there was such a thing as ninja. I mean, come on. It sounded like something out of a bad movie.

"Right," Ino gave me a curious look. "Anyway, Kakashi wants you both to come, so you better not keep him and Sasuke waiting." I noticed she got a twinkle in her eyes when she mentioned Sasuke's name. Ugh, love- or what Sakura considered love. It was just infatuation.

I followed Ino and Naruto through the city to an academy. The city itself was beautiful, and everyone was so friendly. They waved at me and stopped me to ask who I was, how I was adjusting here. I answered the best I could, though I hated talking about me to them. For some reason, I wanted to keep information about myself to myself. I didn't want anyone to use something against me.

We bypassed the school (which was freaking huge!) and walked to the training field behind it. It was quite impressive, I will admit. With many obstacles set up and a track that ran around it, it was ideal for training.

"Okay, well, I better go train with my own team. I'll talk to you guys later," Ino told me before running back the way we had come.

Following Naruto over to Kakashi and Sasuke, I listened as Kakashi told them they would be training together to try and defeat himself. I was to sit and watch. Fun, I thought, not! Great. This was just how I wanted to spend my day, watching a bunch of people play ninja.

I sat and watched for maybe ten minutes, but I was too bored to get into it. They were throwing stars and knives at each other and doing weird things with their hands. Naruto made clones of himself, and Sasuke tried to act all cool while he attacked with fire that he blew from his mouth.

Okay, so ninjas were real, but that didn't mean I had to find interest in it, or think that I myself was one. No, I was content with being a normal, everyday, amnesiac. Something inside me told me that being a ninja was overrated.

Sighing, I stood up and stretched, turning my back on the others to look out across the training field. I loved looking at nature. It made me feel so peaceful and at ease. Though, I found I felt more comfortable when I was in the shadows of trees instead of being out in the open where the sun's warm rays could find me.

The next moment happened so fast, I didn't have time to think. I sensed something coming at me from behind. I turned so fast, I hadn't realized I had moved until it was all over. I grabbed the throwing stars out of the air and chucked them back at my attacker with ease, pinning Naruto to a tree.

I frowned. What had I just done? Glancing at the others, I noticed they all had the same shocked expression I must have had. Naruto was gaping at me, Sasuke's eyebrows were raised, and Kakashi was staring at me with his only visible eye.

"Wait. What just happened? What did you do?" Naruto stammered as he struggled to get down, ripping his jacket.

"I don't know. I didn't even think about it. It just happened. I didn't mean to," I shook my head, afraid of how they would think of me. The way they were looking at me made me feel like an outcast, like I was the freak.

"It's okay, Sakura. Come on; we need to go talk to the hokage," Kakashi told me as he ushered me to follow him. "You aren't in any trouble," he assured me when I hesitated.

I followed unwillingly with the others behind me.

At the Hokage's office, Kakashi explained everything that had happened to him. The hokage just nodded and listened. He didn't say anything. His staring at me unsettled me, and I felt intimidated.

"Sakura, this is quite a feat. I think we need to run a few tests on you to see just how skilled you really are. By doing this, we could get closer to finding out who you really are. We are still searching for your name in some other village surrounding us. So far nothing has come up, but we will find something, don't worry," he assured me.

I didn't like the word tests. For some reason it made me uneasy and scared. I didn't want to be some laboratory rat. I shook my head. "No, I don't want to do it. I don't want to be your lab rat. I'm not some person you can test on."

"You wouldn't be a lab rat. We are just trying to find out who you are. Isn't that what you want? Besides, we'll do it out in the open and stop whenever you want."

I conceded, if only to learn who I was. That was the most important thing to me at the moment. Nothing else mattered. I wanted to know what had happened to me, who had done it to me, and why. I would stop at nothing until I found out.

**---****3****rd**** POV****---**

The hokage watched from his balcony as the best ninja in the village worked with Sakura. Kakashi stood at my side. "You know," he said. "At the hospital the other day, she said something about not wanting to be some experimental rat. Do you think that's what Orochimaru was doing to her? Experimenting on her?"

"Most likely," the Hokage nodded. "She probably was supposed to be his protégé, which was why he was experimenting on her- to make her powerful and strong, just like him. But, somehow she escaped and they hunted her down and beat her. They probably would have killed her, except they heard you and your team coming. Fearing exposure, they left her for dead and ran."

Kakashi nodded. "What are the tests showing? It's been a week already."

"Well, so far, she knows how to do every jutsu we throw at her, even the upper level ones. She knows chidori, the Rasengan, most of Neji's clan's techniques. Orochimaru wasn't fooling around when he trained her. She knows how to do all the basics, mediums, and hard jutsus like a master. Now, we are opening some of the scrolls to see if she knows any forbidden jutsus."

Kakashi glanced down at Sakura, who was sitting on the grass and looking over the scrolls the other ninja were showing her. Nodding in understanding, she performed the required hand-signs and was performing the forbid jutsus like she had been doing it her whole life.

"Do you know what this means?" Kakashi asked. "If Orochimaru finds out she's alive, he'll be coming back for her. She could be immensely helpful to the village."

"I know that, but we won't be using her as a weapon. We will allow her to chose what path she wants to take. We will let her decide. Tomorrow, we will be bringing in our toughest ninja and assigning Sakura the task of defeating them all. We will see how well she performs."

_-_-_

The next morning, the Hokage found himself watching as his finest Shinobi took to the ring, the very ring in which the third stage of the Chunins would be performed. He took his seat in the box office and watched as Sakura took on the dozen Shinobi he himself had picked out for this specific task.

The Hokage was astounded as he watched Sakura take them all out with a combination of Taijutsu and Genjutsu. The Hokage signaled the coordinator to stop the match and blind-fold Sakura and see how well she did.

She did phenomenal. She took the rest of the Shinobi out like it was child's play. The Hokage pondered over this child. She was no older than fifteen, yet she was far beyond ANBU level. She reminded him of the Akatski's skills.

What did Orochimaru want with her? What was his plan? Would Sakura be a threat to the village? And, did she deserve to know that she had been Orochimaru's pawn?

**---****Normal POV****---**

I walked back to my apartment after I was told I was done with the testing. After a week and a half of sleeping with monitors connected to my head and arms, training, and studying (to see how much I could retain and already knew) I was exhausted and eager to sleep in my own bed where I could finally relax.

Slamming my door shut, I crawled into bed and lay there, waiting for sleep to take me. But, before I could slip into dream land, a knock on the door interrupted me. Groaning, I told whoever it was to come in and that I was in my room.

Naruto appeared in the doorway and crossed the room to sit on the floor in front of me. "Hey, Sakura! How does it feel to finally be back home?" he asked.

"Well, to tell you the truth, Naruto. It doesn't feel like home because I only got to sleep in it once," I snapped a little harsher than I intended. The light in Naruto's eyes faltered. "I'm sorry Naruto. It's been a long week. I'm just tired and irritable is all. Nothing a good night's sleep can't fix."

"Don't worry about it. I understand. I just came by to welcome you back. All my friends really want to meet you, so I came to see if you wanted to go out for some Ramen to meet them. We could go later, at like 8, that way you have time for a few good hours of sleep," Naruto suggested.

I nodded. "Sure. I'd like to meet your friends." I didn't really want to go out, but Naruto had been so kind to me, I didn't want to disappoint him. "I'll be ready to go out then."

"Great." He just sat there.

"See you later, Naruto." When he still didn't get the hint, I pulled the covers up over my head and turned my back to him and fell asleep after hearing the door close after Naruto left.

I awoke to Naruto gently nudging me awake. "Do you still want to go, or would you rather sleep?" he asked.

Sleep. "I'm up, so I'll come," I answered instead. "Just give me a few minutes to change.

A few minutes later, Naruto was escorting me to the ramen shop he was telling me so much about. He must have really loved ramen; he went there to eat at least twice a day.

Entering the small shop, Naruto pointed out his friends, who were sitting around a big table. He introduced me to each of them. "Sakura, that's Sasuke and Ino, as you know, Neji, Tenten, Hinata, Kiba, Shikamaru, Lee, Shino, and Choji."

I gave a small wave as I sat down next to Naruto and Kiba. "Hello."

"So, you're the amnesiac?" Shino asked bluntly. I admired that in him.

"Yep," I nodded.

"So, I hear that you can perform forbidden jutsu," Kiba said conversationally.

"Yep," I repeated.

"And, I heard you beat a dozen of the Hokage's best men blind folded," Neji added.

"Yep."

"And, you still don't know how you can do all of this? You can't remember anything?" asked Neji asked.

"Uh huh."

"I bet it was fluke," Choji chimed in. "You couldn't beat us. We are the best in the village. Besides, it would be good practice before the Chunins."

"Ya," everyone else chimed in.

I groaned. So, they didn't want to meet me. They wanted to see how good I was and find out if they could beat me. I should have known.

Please review so that I know you all like or dislike it.


	3. Test Results

Let me know what you think of this one! Please review so I know if you all think I should continue.

**~3~ Test Results**

It was me versus all the Genin guys in the Leaf Village. They had all challenged me when they had learned of my superior abilities. They wanted to see if I was as good as rumor has it. So there was only one of me, and 8 of the guys-including Naruto, who said he just wanted to practice.

All the girls just sat on the sidelines to watch their "boys." I blocked out the girls' words of encouragement to the guys. No one seemed to care about whether or not I got hurt.

Neji did a hand sign and his eyes got real big and the veins around them popped up and was seen through the skin. He was all business. Sasuke's eyes went red when he did a few hand signs. Naruto created some clones. The others just took fighting stances. They didn't think I would be able to get through the front line.

I took off creating some clones of my own while doing a transportation jutsu at the same time. The clones took on the front line while I popped up behind everyone. Tapping Choji on the shoulder, I punched him into Shino, who jumped up and called out his bugs.

Gross, I hated bugs. But, I kept my cool and summoned fire, spitting fireballs from my mouth- just as I had seen Sasuke do right before I had to go in for all my testing. It disintegrated the bugs on contact, and I transported behind Neji and kicked his feet out from under him, but he caught himself with his hands and punched me in the shoulder, using something he called Gentle Fist.

I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder that didn't go away. Forming some hand signs, I used my medic skills to heal it. I decided to let them come to me. I wanted to see what they were made of.

Kiba and Akamaru took the bait first and called out, Fang over Fang. They were like two cyclones locked on Sakura. As they drew nearer, I reached up and grabbed Kiba's arm, and holding my ground, I used Kiba as a shield against Akamaru, who tried to veer away, but caught Kiba and sent the two flying. Knocking them out.

Choji rolled up into a ball- the human boulder, and charged at Sakura. I held my ground and stopped Choji's pursuit. Using him like a bowling ball, I threw him back at the others. They scattered, but Choji hit the back wall and went through it.

Rock Lee ran out and tried some of his Tai- Jutsu, but I merely blocked with my own martial art skills. I blocked every blow with one arm, and swung with my leg so fast, Lee didn't have time to realize he was falling. I pinned him to the ground.

Someone took the opportunity to try and attack from behind. Sasuke. I spun out of the way, and Sasuke punched Lee in the stomach, knocking him out cold. Sasuke wasn't going to be deceived by any gen-jutsu because of his eyes, much like Neji, so that was out. I'd have to use my own muscle to do any damage.

I waited for Sasuke to make the first move. It took off running at me. After a few hand signs, he spit fire from his mouth. Jumping out of the way within a millisecond from impact, I jumped behind him and kicked his legs out from under him, but he kicked out. I dodged, and continued to pin him to the ground.

The battle continued for more than two hours. I barely had any scratches, while everyone else had a gashes and gaping holes in their stomachs. Because of which, I was the victor. I walked over to everyone and healed them with a healing power, I still had not yet remembered I had.

"Sakura!" Kakashi-sensei's voice broke through Sakura's concentration. Everyone was healed; I was just trying to heal the small scratch on my face. I glanced up, Kakashi motioned for my to follow him. "Come on."

Iran to catch up to him and fell in stride beside him, matching his easy-going pace. "So, what's this all about?" I asked.

"We're about to go over your test results," he answered as he pulled out a book and began to read.

"You read?" when Kakashi raised his eyebrows at me, I continued, "I mean, you just don't seem like the reading type." I started babbling, afraid I had angered him in some way.

"Whoa, I was kidding. I know what you meant," he raised his hands in surrender.

I smiled, glad that Kakashi wasn't some strict, mean teacher.

Once in the Hokage's office, I took a seat in front of the old man's desk. Kakashi stood off to my side. The third hokage took a deep breath before starting. "Sakura, as you know we are here to discuss your testing results."

I nodded, eager to get the results, to get this over with. I wanted to learn who I was as fast as I could.

"Well, from what we have compiled, it seems that you are best with healing Jutsus, and you have strength like none I have ever seen before. You are smarter than your years, surpassing even my most intellectual of Jonin. Your chakra control is beyond impressive. It's no wonder Orochimaru picked you."

I frowned. Orochimaru. Should that ring a bell? Did I know this guy? "Uh, I don't remember who he is," I admitted.

"We don't mean to frighten you, Sakura. But, we feel this Orochimaru person abducted you, then experimented on you. By doing so, he gave you immense power. That or because you have so much power is why he chose you. That dog-tag around your neck links you to him. It's a cell number. We think that you tried to escape, and they followed you. Beating you so you couldn't expose them. Kakashi's team frightened them away, and they left you thinking you were dead. When they beat you, it cause memory loss. Whether it is permanent or not is uncertain," the Hokage explained.

I was quiet for a moment, taking it all in. my memory loss could be permanent? Great, I'd be missing a huge chunk from my life. Was I just supposed to move on? Was I just supposed to forget everything. my parents, my friends, my life before imprisonment- if I wasn't born and raised in the prison- I never know.

"So, what is the course of action?" I asked. That was the only thing to keep my mind off of how badly things had gotten, work.

"Well, we feel you should work your way up in rank, so I'm leaving you under Kakashi's supervision. You will join the Chunins with the team, which starts tomorrow. I'll pull a few strings to get you signed up, but with your prowess, I don't think you'll have anything to worry about. It'll be like a whole new life for you. New friends, and I hope you consider us as a part of your family."

I nodded woodenly. They just expected me to continue with my life as though nothing had happened. But, maybe this was a good thing. Maybe my life had been so bad, my mind had blocked that out as a defensive mechanism.

"Oh, and alert us right away if you start gaining any pieces of information from your time with Orochimaru."

I nodded before getting up and exiting the room.

**3****rd**** POV**

Kakashi stood in front of the Hokage's desk, "So you think she's going to surpass everyone?"

The old man nodded. "Yes, I do. She's quite gifted in the ways of the ninja, even if she doesn't yet realize that. She's wise beyond her years, which is probably why she was in with Orochimaru. Keep a close eye on her. I don't want her wondering too far away."

Kakashi nodded and disappeared out the door.

**Normal POV**

I was in my own room, contemplating if I should ask Naruto to go train with me. As I was arguing with herself, someone was knocking on my door. Naruto stood on the other side when I opened the door.

"Hey, want to go train with me?" he asked. I smiled and chuckled to herself. Naruto, it seemed, knew me too well for only knowing me a short time.

"I'd love to."

At the training ground, the ran together on the track, working up their endurance. "So, I'm sorry about today, with the guys. They're always looking for people to train with, and since you were supposed to be so good- which you are, you know- they figured they'd find out for themselves," Naruto rambled.

I smiled. "I know, Naruto. I understand. I know you didn't bring me out just to train. Don't worry about it. It's behind us."

"You know, you're pretty cool for a girl," Naruto told me.

I laughed. "And, you're pretty cool for a guy."

They ran in silence for a few minutes. "So, I'm with you and Sasuke at the Chunins tomorrow. Now you're a full team."

"Really? That's great, we're so going to win now!" Naruto pumped his fist in the air, which threw off his balance and he tripped.

I stopped and ran back to him. "Naruto, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, believe it. I bounce back from anything!" Naruto jumped to his feet.

I smiled as I shook my head. "How about some ramen?"

"Sounds great! Race you there!" Naruto took off towards the heart of the village.

**3****rd**** POV**

Naruto remained behind at the ramen shop after Sakura left, complaining of a headache. He watched her go. Kiba, who had been sitting in the corner with Neji, Choji, Shikamaru, and Shino popped up at his side. "So, you sure are hanging around with that Sakura chick."

Naruto shrugged. "We're on the same team, and she's going to be doing the Chunins with us. I felt like I should get to know her."

"Is that the only reason?" Kiba asked poking him in the shoulder.

Naruto glared at him. "I'm sure."

"You know, I see the way she looks at you," Choji put in, lying just to get some information from Naruto, knowing he'd take the bait.

"What do you mean?" Naruto took the bait. Hook. Line. Sinker.

"Oh, you know," Choji shrugged.

Naruto looked thoughtful. "Well, she is kind of pretty and smart."

"Don't forget that she can beat the crap out of you if you make her mad," Shikamaru cut in.

"That too," Naruto agreed. "But, I don't think I like-like her. Look guys, I'm tired. I'll see you at the Chunins. Let the best team win."

"Oh, we plan to," Neji agreed.

When Naruto was out of ear shot, Kiba turned to the others, "He's so clueless, even to himself. But, it's still early. I can't wait to see what happens. She's not going to just take any crap from anyone."

"True. Okay, I give him till the end of the Chunins to tell her how he feels," Choji bet.

"Nah, I bet we'll all be thirty years old and he still won't have said anything. I bet he'll be too chicken to ever tell her. I'll bet she'll have to tell him a month after the Chunins," Kiba said.

"I bet Sakura will confess after the Chunins," Neji put in.

"Sakura will tell him half way into the Chunins," Shikamaru added.

"I bet no one says anything. I bet we will have to step in," Shino replied.

They all pooled in a hundred dollars.

Please review so that I know you all like or dislike it.


	4. The Chunin Exams

Let me know what you think of this one! Please review so I know if you all like it. 

**~4~ The Chunin Exam!**

I was awakened to a pounding on my front door. Groaning, I saw it was six. Grabbing my pink robe, I opened the door to find Sasuke and Naruto standing on the porch. The sun was barely peaking over the horizon behind them, casting a bright glow over the faces carved in stone. 

"What's going on?" I moaned, shielding my eyes against the bright light. I ran my hand through my tousled hair.

"The written stage of the Chunins is today at nine," Naruto replied as if that explained it all. 

I just stared at him, "Why then do I need to be up three hours before?"

"Because Kakashi thinks we should train a little bit more before hand," Sasuke said impatiently. "You know, to focus on team."

I hung her head and groaned again. "Give me five minutes. Come on in and make yourselves at home." I left the door open for them as I hurried into my room and changed. I pulled my hair up and walked into the living room. The guys were sitting on my couch, waiting.

"I'm ready to go," I told them rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I was not a morning person. I followed silently behind the two guys.

After hours of training, we rushed to the academy where the writing exam would take place. I felt a little confident; the team had spent all morning working together trying to strengthen our weaknesses. I felt we were ready. We would get through this together.

After we checked in, we loitered out in the hallway with the rest of the Genin. Rock Lee came up to me and grabbed my hand. "My beautiful little cherry blossom. Will you be my girlfriend?" he asked.

My eyebrows shot up so far and so fast I thought they would shoot right off my face. Blood rushed to my cheeks. I didn't want to go out with him, but I didn't want to embarrass him in front of everyone. How could I let him down easy? I could hear Lee's team chuckle, and I turned an even brighter shade of red.

"Uh, thanks Lee, but I'm not really in the market for a relationship at the moment. Thanks, but no thanks," I tried to be nice about it; I didn't want to hurt his feelings. Lee was really nice, but I really wasn't looking for a boyfriend- not when I couldn't remember anything about my past. What if there was someone?

I could see Lee depleting. "Oh, I understand. You are still youthful. It makes sense. I understand," he replied stepping back. 

I smiled half heartedly. I grabbed Naruto and Sasuke's hands and drug them farther down the hall where Lee couldn't talk to me. I leaned against the wall and sighed. I ran my hand through my bangs that hung annoyingly in my face. 

Sasuke wore a smirk on his face, and Naruto looked a little annoyed. I shook my head. "You guys could have helped me out there."

"Nah, you looked like you had it handled, Cherry Blossom," Sasuke teased, his smirk growing wider.

I punched him harder than I intended. "Don't call me that."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and went back to glowering in the corner. I glanced at Naruto. "So, are you ready? Nervous?" I asked.

He looked up surprised, like he had forgotten why we were really there. "Oh, ya. Tests aren't my strong point."

I shrugged. "Don't worry about it. You can cheat, just don't get caught."

Sasuke and Naruto frowned. "We can cheat? How do you know that?"

I frowned. How had I known that? Was I remembering parts of my past? I shook my head. "I don't know, I just did. I almost feel like I've done this already, like I'm going through this again. But, how can that be? Wouldn't the Hokage have recognized me if I had?"

They shook their heads. 

.~.

After we had received the instructions to the test and we had started, I glanced around. Naruto looked like he was sweating. I wished I could calm him down, get him to think. He could cheat as long as he didn't get caught. Glancing down at the questions, I found I didn't need to cheat, I knew the answers.

About half way through, I felt another presence inside me, and I realized it was Ino, cheating off of my paper with her Mind Transfer Jutsu. I pushed, but let her go. I didn't want to be the one to expel her and her team. I was done; what did it matter if she cheated from me?

By the time the proctor revealed the tenth question, Ino was already gone, back in her own body. For the tenth question, we had to decide whether or not it was worth it. He was trying to scare us, and it worked on a lot of other teams, but I knew what the tenth question really was. But how? 

Shaking my head, I saw Naruto raise his hand and gave a gallant speech on how he would never give up… blah, blah, blah. Good for him. I knew I could count on him when it mattered. I glanced over at Sasuke and saw he was as calm and cool as a cucumber. 

Nodding at him, we got up and proceeded outside where we would receive instructions for the next part of the exam. We were to get scrolls from booths and hide the scroll from the rest of the groups. We gave me the scroll because we felt I was the best one to protect it. 

Emerging from our booth, I glanced around to see if I could distinguish what scroll others had, but they had concealed it well. That was when I spotted a grass ninja with his team a few yards away. That face. Something about it was so familiar. I started to feel queasy.

_He crept closer and closer, his snake-like tongue licking his disgusting lips. His long dark hair masking his facial expression. I felt terror well up deep inside me. I tried to pull my arms free from their restraints. I was shackled to the wall, my hands above my head. _

_He grabbed my chin with his ice cold hands. "What's wrong? You look so distressed?" he asked innocently, or as innocently as he could muster._

_I spit in his face and tried to kick out with my feet, but I had done that one too many times and had earned them to be shackled as well. I twisted and pulled, yanked and jerked, but I couldn't get free. And, my hands were too far apart for me to do any hand signs to perform any jutsu. _

_A tear fell from my eye and he wiped it away with his thumb. I whimpered, and that only seemed to provoke him. I shook my head from side to side. I did not want this poor excuse for a human to touch me. I swung my elbow and caught him on the cheek._

_He didn't flinch, just yanked at my hair. "You will never learn, will you?" He motioned for someone to enter. The silver haired man entered, whip in hand. He handed it over to the long haired freak._

_He held the whip over his head before he lashed out._

**3****rd**** POV**

Team 7 had just emerged from the booth when Sakura collapsed into Naruto, falling on top of him. Naruto blushed, but laid her gently on the grass. Sasuke hunched over her from the other side.

"Sakura," Naruto slapped her cheeks gently, trying to get her to come to. He glanced up at Sasuke. "What happened?"

Sasuke shook his head. "She was just looking around when she fell."

Naruto called out her name again. Sakura's eyelids fluttered before she came to. "Naruto?" Sakura was disoriented; she couldn't think of where she was or why she was there.

"Sakura, are you okay? What happened?" Naruto asked, helping her sit up slowly.

Sakura shook her head as she tried to collect her thoughts. "I don't remember…" She hesitated. "Oh, I remembered something from my past. That man over there. I recognized him, and then I had a flashback to this dungeon where this man who looked similar to that guy, but they aren't the same person, tortured me." Sakura stifled a sob that threatened to break free.

Naruto helped her to her feet. "Are you going to be able to continue?" he asked.

Sakura nodded. "Ya, I'll be fine. Thanks."

Naruto exchanged a look with Sasuke. They were both worried about her. They couldn't afford to have her fainting during the next stage; it was supposed to be extremely difficult and dangerous. They would need her to advance.

Naruto watched Sakura try and catch her breath. His heart went out to her. He admired that she was even here after all she had been through. He couldn't imagine what life would be like if he woke up one day and couldn't remember who he was, what had happened all those years back, or why it had happened.

The fact that she could still smile and go about her day was more than what any person, who had gone through the same ordeal, could do. He was proud of her. He would protect her through the forest. He would guard her with his life.

**Normal POV**

I couldn't believe I had blanked like that, and right in front of all the teams! Now, we would be a target by everyone. They would think we were the weakest link, and that I was the worst one of the team. I owed Naruto and Sasuke an apology, but they wouldn't accept it, dismissing me saying it would be fine.

They were too good to me. I didn't deserve their kindness or tolerance of me. I knew Naruto well enough now to know he would go out of his way to protect me. By doing so, he would be putting his life in danger, and I would not let that happen. I was not going to be held accountable for that. I would have to tell him flat out that I would not allow it.

But, I didn't get the chance. Our new proctor, Anko, announced that the next stage: The Forest of Death, had started.

I led my team into the caged area. I was ready to face this new challenge, and I knew my team was too. We could do this; I had complete faith in them. Taking a deep breath, we headed farther and farther into the depths of the forest. Before we knew it we would be in that tower in the center of the forest with both scrolls in hand. Of that, I was sure.

Please review so that I know you all like or dislike it.


	5. The Forest of Death

Sorry, this one is kind of short. (Just so you all know, the fight scene isn't exactly like the scene from the anime. I switched a lot of things). Let me know what you think of this one! Please review so I know if you all like it.

**Chapter 5 The Forest of Death**

Naruto, Sasuke, and I were racing through the trees, hoping to find someone with the opposite scroll. We had had some close encounters already, with people kidnapping Naruto and then cloning themselves to look like him. They almost had us fooled, but Sasuke saw right through them.

With a few bumps and bruises, we headed farther into the forest. One thing was for certain, we couldn't get split up. We needed to stay in each other's sights at all times. So, we created a password, that way we would always know if it was the other. It was something simple, but I knew Naruto would never remember it all- it was too long for him to retain.

A blast of wind, from a different battle- I knew, threw us off our feet. I smacked against a tree and took the blunt of the force for Sasuke. Getting to my feet, I saw Naruto running towards us. "Password?" I asked before he could get too close.

Naruto recited it perfectly. Word for word. Sasuke threw a kunei at him, and Naruto dodged it too swiftly for it to really be him. Sasuke had caught on too. "Who are you, really? It was better than the last one, but we saw right through you!" Sasuke told him.

In a puff of smoke, the imitator's original form appeared. It was a long, black haired woman.

Flashes of my past spun through my head.

_A man, though a snake came to mind when she saw him, smiling over her evilly as she tried to learn a complicated Jutsu. _

……..*…….

_Being locked up inside cage, the snake-like man watching from the outside._

………_*………_

_Being electrocuted from a collar around my neck when I didn't do the Jutsu correctly the first time._

………_*………_

_A silver haired man at his side, sneering down at me as I wept at their feet._

………_*………_

_Fighting the snake man._

Then I received flashes of pain, though no images went with them. Searing pain, torture whips, burning, pricks of pain.

Grabbing my head, I fell to my knees. Why now? Why when we were getting ambushed? Why was I turning out to be a liability, not an asset? Why? Who was this woman? Why did she trigger memories that I didn't even know existed?

Sasuke didn't dare take his eyes off of the woman to help me; I would have yelled at him if he did. Though a migraine pounded like a boxer's fists inside my head, I stood next to Sasuke and stared down our opponent. There was something about her. She reached into her robes, taking out a scroll, the scroll we needed. She held it up and put it to her mouth, and swallowed it.

I frowned. What kind of person could swallow a scroll? What kind of person would even do such a thing? She licked her lips hungrily, muttering something; I was too preoccupied by her recent job to comprehend what she had said. Looking into her eyes, I saw she was starting a Jutsu, I glanced away, though I heard Sasuke gasp.

Glancing back at him out of the corner of my eye, I saw he was on his knees, breathing heavily. He threw up in front of himself. I frowned. What kind of Jutsu had she used that would bring down Sasuke to his knees? Sasuke seemed paralyzed; he just stared off into space, as if he was having a battle within himself.

I charged forward, prepared to defend my teammate. Throwing a kunei, I disappeared as she dodged it and appeared behind her, sending the chakra to the palm of my hand, ready to end it by hitting the pressure points in her arms and chest. But, she turned and with her insanely long tongue, stroked my cheek while grabbing my wrists with her hands. Kicking her in the stomach, I put some distance between us.

Making some rapid hand signs, I started to evoke a complicated Jutsu, but she thrust shuriken at me, forcing me to do something with my hands. I reached out, caught all of them between my fingers and chucked them back at her. But, she disappeared, reappearing behind me silently. Chakra at my palm, I swung out, but she kicked me in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me. Picking me up, she threw me against a tree as if I was a rag doll. It was almost as if she knew my moves, but how?

She grabbed a kunei and stabbed me in the shoulder, pinning me to the tree on each side. Groaning from the pain, I tried to think of a plan, but I was no Shikamaru. I needed to be quick… Forming more hand signs, I disappeared and reappeared behind Sasuke, who was still breathing hard, and grabbed him. We needed to find Naruto, regroup.

I didn't make it far; the pain in my shoulders had me setting Sasuke down about half a mile away. He was coming out of the Jutsu, though he looked a little shaken up. It seemed distance was the key.

"What did you see, Sasuke?" I asked. I needed to know what we were dealing with if it was going to be a fair fight. After all, she seemed to know all of mine.

"My death," he stammered. "She's death. She's what's going to kill all of us." He shook his head, to clear it. "But, I'm going to put up one heck of a fight."

I smiled. There was the Sasuke I knew. "I was starting to get a little worried the ninja had done some serious damage," I teased.

He smirked. Now I was for sure he was back to normal.

"We need to find Naruto. We need the whole team to take her down. She isn't what she seems," I said, listening for anything that would give away any opponent's position.

"What happened with you back there? Had she done that death Jutsu to you then?" Sasuke asked, interrupting my train of thought.

I struggled with what to say. I didn't want him thinking I was some poor weakling that needed protection. "Ya, something like that."

Glancing over Sasuke's shoulder, I saw a giant snake ready to strike. Pushing Sasuke over the branch, I stopped the snake's attack with my hands. It was stronger than I, so it pushed me into three trees, snapping them in half, before we landed on the ground. It's mouth crept closer to my head, but I pushed back. My arms were shaking from the tension.

Sasuke started running to help, but the ninja showed up, blocking his path. The two of them sparred off. I was on my own. If only I knew where Naruto was. If only we had found him.

I guessed that the fangs were poisonous, so I couldn't get nicked by them; I needed to be careful. My arms were growing tired. I was going to let go. Suddenly, the weight was lifted. The snake was sent sprawling. Jumping to my feet, I found Naruto- the real one- standing about a foot away from me, smiling.

"The number one ninja is here!" he cried as he stepped to my side and we annihilated the snake together. Now it was just the matter of the snake man to deal with. I saw Sasuke was putting up a good fight, but he was growing tired.

The ninja's neck elongated just like a snake and sped towards Sasuke. Rushing to Sasuke's aid, I stepped into his place and took the bite for him.

Please review so that I know you all like or dislike it.


	6. Curse Marks

_**I'm Back and after a long break! But here is the next chapter. Please Review! I like critisism- good and bad. Thanks for being patient. Enjoy!**_

_**Chapter 6 Curse Marks**_

_The pain I felt could not be described; it was so excruciating that I couldn't move. I was paralyzed on the spot, but somehow, I was able to work passed the pain; I was able to push the pain aside and attack. Grabbing, her head, I twisted it to break her neck. I dug my nails into her flesh as I flung her away from me. Dropping to my knees, I held the spot where I had been bitten._

_Naruto ran to my side. "Sakura, are you okay?" He looked alarmed as he brushed aside my pink hair to looked the bite wound over. "Sakura, there's another mark showing up on the other side of your neck as well. Its like you've been bitten before," Naruto informed me._

_Sasuke came up beside Naruto to get a closer look._

_I nodded, standing up, pushing myself beyond the pain. Glancing over at the woman, we found she was still alive. Her neck wasn't broken, but the flesh on her face was coming off. She ripped the skin away to reveal a man. _

_Bam! More flashbacks, more intense than the last ones. _

"_This will hurt a little, but if you live, it only proves how strong you are," the snake man told me as he extended his neck, biting me. _

……..*…….

_I was writhing on the floor of a glass room, thinking I was going to die. On the other side of the glass was the snake man and his silver haired assistant, watching me like I was some sort of a guinea pig._

……..*…….

"_I said to do a triple back-flip, spring forward, backwards double cut into the Jutsu, not whatever it is that you think you did. That was the most pathetic thing I have ever seen," Mr. Four-eyes yelled as he pushed a button, sending hundreds of volts of electricity running through my body._

……..*…….

"_You know how much you mean to me," snake man was telling me as I sobbed in my cell. He knelt in front of me, caressing my cheek. "You are my favorite student who holds so much potential. Kabuto only pushes you because he knows how much you are capable of. Don't let what he tells you get to you."_

……..*…….

"_You are special to me," he told me, when he found me sprawled out after being punished for not beating my own record. "I care about you." He helped me into a sitting position. "I hold you close to my own heart." He leaned in and kissed me square on the lips. I couldn't fight back for fear of being tortured again. I was so used to this that I didn't feel anything. I let him do whatever he wanted._

"Ahh!" I screamed as the memories all tried to come through at once. I fell to the ground holding my head. Naruto crouched at my side, holding me still while Sasuke stood before us, protecting us.

"It hurts, doesn't it," the snake man said in a dreary monotone. "To be separated for so long. But, now that we are together again, you can come back with me."

The memories stopped, and I stood up. All I knew about this guy was that he was not to be trusted. He did horrible things to me, and I wasn't about to let him do it again. "Just leave. I'm not going anywhere with you, Orochimaru." I suddenly remembered his name. It just popped out.

He disappeared and reappeared between Naruto and me. "You see, that's where you're wrong." He grabbed my arm, disappearing before Sasuke or Naruto could react. He reappeared twenty feet in front of them, holding me in front of him. His arms caressing my shoulders. Goosebumps crept up my skin as I shivered. "Now," he whispered into my ear. "Are you going to come with me willingly? Or, do I need to do more convincing that no matter what, you're mine?"

I struggled to get his hands off of me, but he was too strong. "Bug off," I said as I pulled with all my strength.

He shrugged. "Ok, we'll do it the hard way." He elongated his neck, racing for Sasuke again. 

"No!" I screamed.

Naruto took out a kunei, throwing it at the head, but Orochimaru knocked it away with his tongue, shoving Naruto back against a tree, knocking him out. Sasuke tried to put up a fight, but in the end, he was bitten too.

"Naruto! Sasuke!" I cried, breaking free, but only because he let me go. I raced to Naruto's side as Orochimaru's neck returned to normal. Naruto was still breathing. Grabbing him, I pulled him to Sasuke's side. Sasuke was on his back writhing in pain. He was grunting and moaning, but there was nothing I could do. "Sasuke, Naruto and I are right here. We won't leave you."

Sasuke clutched at his neck, closing his eyes and blacking out, his hand went slack. I glanced back at Orochimaru who was looking at me a little too smugly. He reached his hand out towards me, as if he was offering a hand to help me up.

"Come with me, or Sasuke and Naruto will die," he threatened.

"Not until you tell me who you are and what's going on," I shook my head. If I was going to go with him, I wanted answers first. Maybe Naruto or Sasuke would wake and hear everything. Then, they could go back to the village and let the Hokage know what was going on. They could save me.

"Nice try, but I'll tell you, once you come with me," his hand was still outstretched. "So, what'll it be?" Glancing down at Naruto, I saw bruises forming along his arms and face. Sasuke was laboring to breath.

**3rd**** POV**

Naruto was coming around just in time to see Sakura getting up, reaching her hand out. Naruto got up and raced to help, but Orochimaru grabbed him and held him by the neck. "Sakura, don't give in. I don't care if he kills me, but I won't die knowing it was for nothing. If you just give in, Sasuke will have been suffering for nothing. We all have a purpose here, and that's to protect each other. Well, I'm protecting you. Don't give in. Ah!" Orochimaru's hand squeezed Naruto's neck, breaking it. He threw the limp body down.

Tears streamed down Sakura's face as she bawled. Stupid Naruto! He just died, and for what? To keep her from going to Orochimaru? Naruto had been the nicest person she had ever known, and now he was gone. Who was left for her?

This wasn't worth it. Naruto and Sasuke didn't deserve to die over her. They had only met for a few weeks. They hardly knew each other, and yet they were willing to give up their lives for her.

"Sakura, this can be simple. If you come with me willingly, I will revive Naruto and lessen the pain for Sasuke. If you chose not to, well, I'll capture you by force and finish off Sasuke. Either way, you are coming with me," Orochimaru held out his hand.

Sakura just looked at the pale skin of his palm as the tears kept coming. Glancing down at Naruto, she placed her palm on his cheek. "I'm so sorry."

~~~~.~~~~

Sasuke opened his eyes weakly just in time to see Sakura walking closer and closer to Orochimaru reaching out her hand for his. Sasuke vaguely remembered them talking about a deal. Sakura couldn't trade her life for theirs. "No," he called out weakly, but Sakura still reached for the hand that would kill them all.

Sasuke rolled to his side, struggling to get up. Pushing the pain aside, he stood. "Sakura, no!" he started running, but it was too late. She had already grabbed Orochimaru's hand.

He jumped out to her, a blast of energy pushed him back from them. Sasuke landed with a thud on the ground. Before Sasuke could react, they were gone. Glancing at Naruto, he saw he was coming to. He was alive. Naruto had to stand up slowly, his head hurt, a lot. It felt as though a jack hammer was going off inside his head. Glancing around, he noticed someone was missing. "Where's Sakura?" he asked.

Sasuke didn't say anything as he rubbed the spot on his neck where he had been bitten. "Orochimaru took her. They made a deal. A life for a life, basically. She went with him to save you and I." Glancing back at Naruto, Sasuke saw a hint of fear run through Naruto. Could Sakura mean more to him than he was willing to admit?

"Well, what are we waiting for? We need to get her back! Who knows what Orochimaru is doing to her!" Ignoring the splitting headache, Naruto started running into the trees. "You go alert whoever is on the outside of what has happened. I'll go alone."

~~~~.~~~~

"Lord Hokage!" a few ANBU and Kakashi ran into the Hokage's office. "Sakura has been captured. It was what we feared. Orochimaru has come back for her," one spoke.

The Hokage stoked his beard, "I knew this was going to come. Gather all the ANBU. Bring back Sakura at all costs, alive. Kill Orochimaru if you get the chance."

They nodded before disappearing. Kakashi turned to the old man. "What does this mean?"

"It means Orochimaru has something big in store for us; something much bigger than any of us could ever have imagined," the Hokage answered, worry clear in his voice.

~~~~.~~~~

Naruto raced through the trees following Sakura's chakra trail she was purposely leaving behind. They weren't too far ahead of him. Pushing himself, he went faster, harder. Finally, he was catching up, he could see Sakura's pink hair through the trees. His legs had never gone so fast, and they were tiring fast, but Naruto was not giving up. He was going to save her.

Using one finally burst of strength, Naruto jumped on top of Orochimaru, who then dropped Sakura; she caught herself and landed smoothly on the floor below. "Naruto!" she sighed.

Orochimaru ripped Naruto off of him, sending him flying to the floor below. Naruto caught himself and landed close beside Sakura. "Sakura, are you alright?" he asked, worry lining his usually sunny face.

She nodded. "Don't you worry about me. I'm fine."

Naruto nodded before attacking Orochimaru.

~~~~.~~~~

Sasuke raced through the trees, Kakashi at his heels. The ANBU weren't far ahead. Kakashi turned to Sasuke, "So, what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking there is more to this than Orochimaru is letting on. What I can't figure out is why he wants her so badly. Sure she's a good Shinobi, but she escaped. He should have went after her and captured her at all costs, why go through the Chunins to get at her? And, why did he bite me if he has Sakura?" Sasuke answered.

Kakashi nodded. "All good questions, but I doubt we will get the answers we want any time soon."

Sasuke nodded as the two of them raced ahead. Sasuke had been separated from Naruto for about an hour already. Something was bound to go wrong; Sasuke could feel it.

~~~~.~~~~

Sakura and Naruto were working as a team to try and take down Orochimaru. Sakura had a huge gash along her cheek from a kunei, and Naruto had a black eye, a split lip, and a few broken ribs; but he wasn't giving up. Performing a bunch of hand signs, Naruto and his clones called upon the Rasengan.

While Sakura kept Orochimaru busy, Naruto charged at him from behind. Pulling back to deliver the final blow, he put all his power into this one Jutsu. Thrusting forward, Orochimaru turned, grabbed Naruto's hand and shoved it into Sakura's chest, sending her flying through the trees.

"Now look what you have done. She's dead. Just as you will soon be," Orochimaru broke Naruto's hand. He was about to finish him off, but the ANBU showed up and Orochimaru was forced to let him go so that he could run away and escape with his life. But not before he threw Naruto against a tree, sending a ripple of pain throughout his entire body. The ANBU raced after him, hoping to catch him.

Ignoring the pain, Naruto, cradling his broken arm, got up and raced through the trees to find Sakura. About fifty yards away lay a limp Sakura. Her leg was twisted in such a way, Naruto right away it was broke; her arm was twisted up underneath her. A hole in her chest gushed blood. Her pink hair lay mingled with the blood. Her already pale skin was even whiter.

Naruto knelt at her side and wept. What had he done? He couldn't save her, and now she was dead. Naruto placed his good hand on her cheek and caressed it. He had only known her for a few short weeks, and now look what happened. She was gone.

Sasuke and Kakashi came up behind Naruto and stood behind him. Kakashi laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Naruto, we need to get you looked at. Go with Sasuke back to the village. Let me take Sakura," he said.

Naruto nodded. He didn't want to be there when the old man saw the damage he had done. Naruto just wanted to go back home and never come out. If he couldn't even protect his friends, what good was he? What was the point of being a ninja?

Please Review!


	7. Legacies

So sorry it has taken me so long to upload, but I'm in school and will be a little slower, though I will try to get a chapter up more than just once every 6 months. Again so sorry about the long wait! Hope this is good! Read and Review please, I would like to know what everyone still thinks of this!

Chapter 7 Legacies

**Naruto stared out the window of his room. He held his chin in the palm of his good hand as he leaned against the window sill as he sat on his bed. He watched the lightning flash and thunder boom. It was pouring, and Naruto watched as the raindrops pelted his window. The Gods seemed to be crying, and was it merely a coincidence that it was Sakura's funeral today? Naruto watched as all his friends quickly raced by on their way to the funeral.**

**A knock pierced through the quiet of the room. "Naruto, we need to get going," came Kakashi-sensei's voice as he opened the door and peeked inside. When Kakashi saw that Naruto wasn't even dressed yet, Kakashi grabbed the suit that was in a pile on the edge of Naruto's bed and threw it at him. "Get dressed. We are going to be late, and how would that look? You were Sakura's best friend."**

"**Some friend I was," Naruto shrugged indifferently as he stared out the window. **

"**Naruto, Sakura is dead, and there is nothing you can do to change that. You have to just except that she is gone and move on with life. It would be what she wanted you to do," Kakashi told him as he stepped beside Naruto and placed a hand on his shoulder.**

"**I can't go," Naruto shook his head, his voice cracking. "I can't."**

**Kakashi just watched as Naruto tried to gather his thoughts and get whatever was weighing so heavy on him out. **

"**I know in my mind that she's gone, but my heart refuses to except that. I feel that if I put on that suit and go to the funeral, it really will be real. I don't want to look at her in the coffin at that hole in her chest that I caused. I don't want to see how everyone looks at me. That may be so selfish of me, but I can't help it. Sakura was one of my closest friends, and look what happened to her."**

**Kakashi leaned up against the window sill in front of Naruto. "Look, I know what you must be going through, but self pity isn't going to make her death any less real. If you don't go to that funeral, people are really going to start talking about you." With that, Kakashi stood and walked out of the room to wait in the hall for Naruto to change.**

"**And so, we are to move on, just as Sakura would have wanted us to," the Hokage finished the sermon. Every ninja in the village had turned out for Sakura's funeral. Not because they knew her and were sad, but because Orochimaru was everyone's enemy. What he did to Sakura was the vilest of the mean, and everyone turned up to see the damage done. Only Sakura's closer friends shed any tears. But, the rain made it hard to determine what was tears and what was raindrops. Naruto tried not to cry, but one lone tear fell, mixed in with the rain.**

**One by one, the Shinobi placed a single rose on Sakura's closed casket. Everyone moved robotically, as if they were just going through the motions. Naruto was glad the casket was closed; he didn't think he would be able to look her in the face again. Not when there was so many things he wished he could have done differently. **

**Naruto was the last to place the rose, though his was a pink rose because he knew it was her favorite color. Everyone was trickling away. Naruto fell to his knees in the mud and let go. "Sakura, I am so sorry. So sorry." He just kept repeating those words as if it was going to make everything better again.**

"**You're suck a loser," came Sasuke's voice behind him. The rain had plastered his raven black bangs to his forehead.**

**Naruto's hands turned into fists. "What would you know about it?"**

"**This is a funeral, not some pity party," Sasuke sneered down on Naruto. **

**The anger was rising, "You don't know what you are saying. How would you feel if you killed your best friend?"**

"**Probably not too good, but it's done and over with. Will sulking bring her back? She wanted to die, Naruto. Face it. You just helped her along."**

"**Shut up! You have no idea what you are saying! She did not want to die! What would you know about it?" Naruto was on his feet, facing Sasuke. Naruto's face was contorted in a furious rage.**

"**If you were kept captive by Orochimaru and tortured and god knows what else he did to her, would you want to live? Would you want to go out and find the perfect place just to see your enemy come back and almost rip it out from under you? Well, that's what she went through. She wanted to trade her life for ours to keep us alive, that is why she made that deal with Orochimaru. She knew she was going to die when she took his hand. Face it Naruto, she's dead." With that, Sasuke turned and walked away, disappearing into the misty afternoon.**

**Naruto made his way back towards the village down the gravel path. Looking back over his shoulder at the KIA stone, where Sakura's name could now be found, he saw someone with pink hair staring at it. Could it be Sakura? Was she really alive? She wasn't really dead! Turning around, Naruto raced back up the stone. But, once he got there, there was no one there. No sign of anyone. Whoever it was just vanished. **

**No one was ever really there, Naruto knew. He was just seeing things now.**

**Naruto sat in the ramen shop forlornly. He was just moving the noodles in his bowl around, not really eating. "Hey, Naruto," Ino came and sat next to him. Shikamaru and Choji behind her. She knew Naruto was having the worst time out of everyone that she was really dead. After all, he had known her the best. **

**Naruto mumbled incoherently as he shoved the ramen bowl away, got up, and disappeared down the street. Ino looked down. "Poor guy. He didn't even eat his ramen," Ino pointed out.**

"**Hand it over," Choji reached for it. Nothing could fill the bottomless pit that was his stomach. Ino slid it across the counter. **

"**I wish there was something we could do. He's taking this really hard. Sasuke says more than he does," Ino sighed resting her chin in the palm of her hand.**

"**Sasuke and Kakashi are taking it pretty hard, too; they just handle it differently. Kakashi is more distant than ever; he won't even indulge Gai in his games. Sasuke is just venting his frustration into training, which is what Naruto should do," Shikamaru explained.**

"**Ya, well, Naruto needs someone to talk to. Go, Shikamaru," Ino pushed him off his seat and out the shop.**

"**Jeez, troublesome woman," he mumbled under his breath. But, Shikamaru continued down the street in search of Naruto. Maybe the training grounds. He was right on the mark.**

**Naruto was working on the Rasengan against a few trees. He wasn't training, he was venting his anger. Shikamaru sighed. He wasn't good at talking to people like this, about this type of thing. What was he supposed to say? That it was going to be ok? No, because he couldn't guarantee that. **

**Taking a deep breath, Shikamaru walked up behind Naruto and cleared his throat to get his attention. "Look, Naruto," he rubbed the back of his head out of nervous habit. **

"**Don't," Naruto shook his head. His hands in fists at his side. "There is nothing you can say that will make any of this any less real. Nothing you can say will make the pain go away."**

"**I know that," Shikamaru answered. "But think about it, Sakura wouldn't want you acting like this. She wouldn't want you to be like this. She would have wanted you to keep fighting."**

"**How can you say that?" Naruto whipped around and faced Shikamaru, his jaw set in a thin line. "You didn't know her like I did."**

**Shikamaru sighed. "You're right. And if you were as close to her as you claim, you know what the right thing to do is."**

**Naruto looked at the ground, refusing to look Shikamaru in the eyes.**

"**Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal," Shikamaru broke Naruto's train of thought. "She's not really gone, you know. To live in hearts she leave behind, is not to die."**

**Naruto stared after Shikamaru as he walked away. Naruto wasn't sure what to think or say. To hear those words really comforted him, but the fact that Shikamaru said them creeped him out a little bit.**

**Sinking into the sand, Naruto let the tears roll. He would have to let her go in order to move on, he knew. He couldn't keep living like this. It wasn't healthy for anyone, and Shikamaru was right, she wouldn't have wanted him to live his life like this.**

**Getting up, Naruto headed home. Passing the ramen shop, he glanced over to see if the others were there. Instead, he saw Sakura sitting there, eating the ramen as if she had never died. Naruto blinked and raced to the ramen shop. But, when he got there, she was gone. **

**Naruto grabbed a worker, "Who was the woman sitting there? Did you see her? She had pink hair!"**

**The worker shook his head, "Gomen, no one was sitting there."**

**Naruto released him and staggered out of the little shop. Wondering why he kept seeing her ghost. Why couldn't she just quit haunting him? Was that his lot in life? He killed the person closest to him, and now he was going to suffer even more than he already was? If there was a God, why would he put him through this? What was the point?**

**Please review! What do you all still think of this story?**


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